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ARCHIVE_ElmoTheDestroyer

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Bike dieing while riding?

My bike developed a new problem today... Well, sort of new.

The last few times I've ridden, after a while the bike developed a bit of a miss.. I'd get the RPM's up and it'd clear up... Once or twice the bike died as soon as I pulled in the clutch while it was doing that.

Today I took it on it's longest ride so far, about 20 miles one way. I got about 15 miles into the first part, was on an exit ramp, pulled in the clutch and the bike died. Let the clutch back out to pop start it, and it was missing again. Luckily I hit the stoplight at the bottom of the ramp green, made my turn, dropped it a few gears and got on the gas and it cleared up again.

Seemed to be ok the rest of the way to my destination (3-4 miles). On my ride home however the bike died 4 or 5 times. I'd be going highway speed... Then I'd loose power (had to have the throttle almost wide open to maintain speed, then a few seconds later it would die)

Each time it died, I did get it restarted, the choke SEEMED to make it easier to start. However, each time it took a little bit. 10-20 seconds to a about a minute. However it could have just been coincedence... hard to say.

I'm sort of at a loss... I've had the carbs apart a few times, and in general the bike runs good. My guess is it's the stator/rectifier perhaps? If the carbs were the problem I'd assume it wouldn't run normally "most" of the time.

Thoughts appreciated!
--Elmo The Destroyer
PS - Sorry to bombard this forum with questions.. haha, I'll definately be running for the most active poster award this summer. :)
 
Sounds either like petrol starvation or overheating, think I'd go with the petrol starvation first. Might be down to a kink in the petrol pipe, the fuel tank breather is blocked, or a dodgy fuel tap.
 
Actually, I wonder if overheating might be the issue... I haven't seen any warning lights come on, but I have noticed something odd...

I haven't noticed my fan running while I'm riding... (I just figure'd I might not really notice it with wind noise/helmet on) ...

Anyway... The other day I stopped at a friends house and when I got there I hit the kill switch and did not shut the key off. We were standing next to the bike an we heard a gurgling sound. The sound of the coolant overflow. I shut the key off and the fan came on and gurgling soon stopped.

I've also noticed the bike seemed to radiate a bit more heat than I expected (only other bike I've spent any real time on is a 83 Virago 500 :) )...

Any ideas? The fan works but the only time I ever actually hear it is when the key's off. Never really "clicked" until you mentioned that...

Thanks!
--Elmo
 
could be...........

fuel starvation,,,Tap might need a clean&nu diaphram kit,
you running a line filter??......check that,,

could be a dud thermostate or radiator cap.........

8) .....did you find the short??.........
 
try bypassing the kickstand switch, ignition switch will do the same as well-don't know how to bypass it.
 
Check the tank vent,there`s a small
grommet that a pin in the cap pushes through.
 
doode - Yup, I found the short. Ended up being a problem a friend of mine created.

I bought some new signal lights and installed'm a couple weeks ago... I did one side, he did the other...

The signals I put on it (for now) do not have running lights. So the 3rd wire I simply snipped off up inside the wire look/wrap so it didn't ground on anything.

My friend did the same on the rear on his side, but when he did the front he aparently snipped it off like 1/4 of an inch outside of the loom. Eventually the wires got moved around enough they must have started touching the frame, causing the ground.

Snipped that wire shorter and taped it up, problem solved. :)


MachIV - I think your onto something.... Like some of the other people here mentioned, it sounded like a fuel starvation problem. At first, I didn't think that was the case (I've already verified my petcock works good, carbs have all been taken completely apart and cleaned. Inline fuel filter looks good, etc....

It never dawned on me there was a breather on the tank (duh) ... Sure enough, opened the gas lid, and it was corroded shut.

I got as much corrosion out of the breather hole as I could, but I can't see into the tank though the hole, is that normal? I shined a flashlight into the tank thinking I'd be able to see light through the breather, but nothing..

If it's supposed to be a straight shot into the tank I'll have to put a little more effort into getting the corrosion out of the hole. Small drill bit maybe? I don't know if there is supposed to be a 1 way valve or something in there which would explain why I can't see light coming through.

I think I'm going to take it for a ride and see if there's any difference now that I've cleaned that breather out a bit.

I'm still a little concerned about the fan coming on only when the keys off, but I don't think that is related to the problem I'm having (now that I've seen that tank breather was completely plugged).

Again, thanksfor all the replies everyone. This place is really saving my ass with this bike (This is really the first bike I've worked on for more than 5 or 10 minutes).

Wish I could buy ya all some beer and pizza! ;)

Off for a ride... Thanks again!
--Elmo The Destroyer
 
ElmoTheDestroyer said:
It never dawned on me there was a breather on the tank (duh) ... Sure enough, opened the gas lid, and it was corroded shut.

I got as much corrosion out of the breather hole as I could, but I can't see into the tank though the hole, is that normal? I shined a flashlight into the tank thinking I'd be able to see light through the breather, but nothing..

If it's supposed to be a straight shot into the tank I'll have to put a little more effort into getting the corrosion out of the hole. Small drill bit maybe? I don't know if there is supposed to be a 1 way valve or something in there which would explain why I can't see light coming through.Wish I could buy ya all some beer and pizza! ;)
--Elmo The Destroyer
Click to expand...

As for the breather spray carb clean into the hole it should exit through the vent on the right rear bottom of the tank. if not it's plugged. And for the beer and pizza you can go to papa john's website and pay for it and have it "drop shipped" to my front door. and beer we'll have to figure that one out 8)
 
Elmo...,
I wouldn’t be too concerned about the fan running only when the key’s off. This is a design feature to prevent heat soak from expanding your fluid volume and overflowing the reservoir tank. Turning the key off will bring the fan on in the normal operating range (fan is not normally required here with donk running and airflow available). Of course if your engine exceeds the upper limit the fan should come on regardless, this can’t be established until you confirm your temps independently or test your sensors.

If I could search my posts I could direct you to a comprehensive explanation I posted many moons ago.
 
haha, well, I'll tell ya what... If any of you happen to be in the Madison, WI area, let me know and I'll get some beer and pizza.. or maybe grill something.

hehe, anyway... I tried to clean that breather out but its still plugged pretty good. I got the first inch cleaned out or so, but when I spray carb cleaner in it does not come out the drain at the back of the tank.

Whats the best way to unplug that breather? I'm not sure how it's routed inside the tank (can't find a diagram that shows it) so I'm not sure what the safest way to clean it out would be. Any suggestions?


Glad to hear the fan coming on when the key is off is normal... Makes sense now that you mention that. Thanks for relieving my anxeity about that. :)

Anyways... It's dinner time. Talk to ya'll soon! :)
--Elmo
 
Hey Elmo! Try blowing through with compressed air. Assuming that your tank is set up like the 900, there's actually a pipe that runs from the grommet, around the filler port, exits the front of the tank near the frame, and then turns down and under the tank and runs to the back of the tank. This could explain why you can't see into the tank from the beather hole. Good luck!
SS :D
 
yeh, I'm going to give compressed air a shot. I tried using a can of that computer duster stuff (dont have a compresser), but it didnt help.

Hopefully my friend with a compressor has a air nozzle with a rubber tip so I can really force the air pressure into the tube. It's super plugged... I couldn't even see the hole for the breather in the top of the tank until I scraped some crap out of the hole.

If the air doesn't work, any idea of a chemical that might work? I've sprayed carb cleaner in.... Maybe CLR or something?

Hmmmm....
--Elmo
 
I hope I'm not preaching to the uneducated but in case I am, TAKE THE CAP OFF FIRST! 8O :oops:

Sorry, I just recall my brothers mate (honest, he wasn't my mate, no, it wasn't me either) who did this with an old enduro bike tank and, well let me say, it took a while to get the fuel smell out of his pants (and the deposit out of his undies). Then again if you want a tank with a slightly larger capacity, but leaks a bit...
 
Take the cap off first? Of what? haha, ya lost me on that one... If your talking about the gas cap, I'm not sure how I could do anything with it in place since it covers the breather hole we're talking about...? *confused* :)

Yes... Replacing the tank would be awesome. If all goes well, this winter I'll hopefully get a new tank, and then I'll have a friend cut it apart and make it bigger. (similiar to what someone here did to their tank... wish i could remember who it was.) ...

Only problem is, thats something that most likely won't happen until this winter. I'm so broke right now it's pathetic. :)

Anyways.. Got some things to take care of.. Talk to ya'll later!
--Elmo
 
No worries Rocket, I think I know where you were going with that one. :lol: Check it out Elmo, If you find the little metal tube that is exiting the front of the tank and follow it down and back, you should notice a rubber hose connected to it that will exit around the right side peg. If you were to blow into this tube briefly with the cap on, it would pressurize the tank. Guess what happens when you take the blow gun away???? 8O In regards to a chemical, try opening the cap first and stuffing a rag into the hole while leaving the breather open. This way, you can blow through the tube from the tank out, and from outside the tank in without the crap ending up in the tank. May take a few tries from both directions to get it out. If this doesn't work, you may in fact need a new tank. :( :( Good luck!
SS
 
I might be digging a little deep here, but while checking the tank vent (tube from the tank), you may also want to check the cap vent. In order to do this, you must completely disassemble the gas cap, and clear all the passage ways within the aluminum housing. Over time, these passage ways can get gummed up and/or corroded. The portion of the tank that the cap covers, should end up terminating at the top of the tank (inside), as when I fill mine up to the neck (to get the most mileage out of the tank), sometimes I get a little bit of gas back through the vent hole.

Wish I would have seen these posts earlier, as I just came back from a cruise past your area today (played a little hooky from work)!!

Either way, it might just be easier to remove the tank and drain, make sure all the vents flow freely, flush the tank (petcock taken off) of any crap that may show from cleaning the vents, make sure petcock screen is clean, and then reinstall everything. Maybe an extra long wire type pipe cleaner will help with the lower vent?? Similar item used to clean paint guns....

Hope this helps.
 
Good point Shlim! A paint gun cleaner may break apart a stubborn rust ball. You may want to check out Caswell Inc. They have a tank sealer that is supposed to actually like nasty pitted rusty metal. Haven't tried this myself yet. I posted a question about it a while back but never got a definitive answer. Let us know how it all turns out!

And yes, Doode, I do know CPR, but I'm not giving you mouth to mouth so don't ask! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
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